Jarosław Pawlicki – „6×3×26” – permutations of the image (exhibition)

A series of hand-made screen prints – monoprints by Jarosław Pawlicki

Jarek Pawlicki is a graphic designer and creator of screen-printed artworks. In his practice, he combines manual techniques, improvisation, and experimentation, deliberately avoiding digital tools. His series of hand-made screen prints – monoprints titled “6×3×26” – is a visual exploration of permutations, inspired by music, geometry, and rhythm.

Cryptological inspirations

The starting point for the “6×3×26” series is the Rejewski Bombe – a pioneering cryptological device that played a crucial role in breaking the Enigma code. It consisted of six identical mechanisms simulating the work of the Enigma machine, each using three rotors. The arrangement of the numbers 6 and 3 became the impulse for creating the visual structure of the works.

Graphic scores and the mathematics of form

Another source of inspiration was graphic scores – geometric notations of music known from the works of Roman Haubenstock-Ramati and Bogusław Schaeffer. In the prints, the numbers 3 and 6 are reflected in three colors and six graphic elements. In successive works, these colors and forms permute – transforming, overlapping, and modifying, as if encoding the original image into an increasingly complex structure. The final work in the cycle is the result of ultimate “encoding” – a visual equivalent of a decoded message, whose meaning is embedded in the very process.

Technique and creative process

The series was created using the technique of screen print monoprinting – the artist’s workshop specialty. From the concept, through the preparation of matrices, to the hand-made prints – every stage of the process was carried out fully analog, in a creative practice guided by intuition and improvisation. This underlines the manual and experimental character of the works.

The series consists of 26 prints – exactly the number of letters in the alphabet used by the Enigma machine. This number was not planned at the concept stage but emerged naturally from the working process. This statistical coincidence ties the conceptual framework of the cycle together, linking the creative process, history, and the element of chance.